With a population of more than 1.2 billion, India is the world’s largest democracy. Over the past decade, the country’s integration into the global economy has been accompanied by economic growth. India has now emerged as a global player.
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According to the Water Hackathon report, hackathons produce more meaningful results if they are designed as a process, rather than as a one-off event.“Seeing the Hackathon as a process places equal... Show More + emphasis on the collection of water challenges from those best equipped to define them, the execution of a fun and open Hackathon hosted by tech community partners best equipped to organize them, and follow-up activities that offer opportunities for further collaboration,” said Julia Bucknall, Sector Manager at the World Bank Water Anchor.Other sectors considering Hackathons stand to benefit from the lessons from the Water Hackathon in the new report.For example, the iterative process of defining pressing problems was critical to a successful event, and also drew innovation from within the water community. This strengthened that community’s engagement and its ties to one another and to the Hackathon community. This was also a point made by Mike Mathieu, founder and investor in many civi Show Less -

Inadequate sanitation causes India considerable economic losses, equivalent to 6.4 per cent of India’s GDP in 2006 at US$53.8 billion (Rs.2.4 trillion), according to The Economic Impacts of Inadequate... Show More + Sanitation in India, a new report from the Water and Sanitation Program.The study analyzed the evidence on the adverse economic impacts of inadequate sanitation, which include costs associated with death and disease, accessing and treating water, and losses in education, productivity, time, and tourism. The findings are based on 2006 figures, although a similar magnitude of losses is likely in later years.The report indicates that premature mortality and other health-related impacts of inadequate sanitation, were the most costly at US$38.5 billion (Rs.1.75 trillion, 71.6 percent of total impacts), followed by productive time lost to access sanitation facilities or sites for defecation at US$10.7 billion (Rs. 487 billion, 20 percent), and drinking water-related impacts at US$4.2 billion (R Show Less -

Vienna/Washington, July 21, 2010 — HIV prevalence in India and South Asia is growing among sex workers, injecting drug users, and other marginalized groups largely because of a widespread failure to prevent... Show More + stigma and discrimination toward people living with AIDS, or at high risk of contracting the virus, according to a new report launched today at the global AIDS summit in Vienna, Austria.The new report by the World Bank and the International Centre for Research on Women―Tackling HIV-Related Stigma and Discrimination in South Asia―says that despite prevention and other efforts to reduce high-risk behaviors such as unprotected sex, buying and selling of sex, and injecting drug use, HIV vulnerability and risk remain high. Stigmatizing attitudes in the general population and discriminatory treatment by health providers and local officials, among others, intensify the marginalization of vulnerable groups at highest risk, driving them further from the reach of health services and desperate Show Less -

TAMIL NADU HEALTH INDICATORS IMPROVEApril 29, 2010 - To further improve health services quality and access while supporting state-wide management systems implementation, the World Bank has provided... Show More + $117.70 million to the State of Tamil Nadu today. This comes as additional financing to the $110.83 million Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project, approved December 16, 2004 that has demonstrated effective results in reducing infant and maternal mortality.TAMIL NADU HEALTH SYSTEMS PROJECT CONTEXTTamil Nadu has made significant development progress over the last 15 years. It is one of India's most industrialized states with economic growth rates well above the national average. The state has made impressive gains in life expectancy, gender equality, reducing female mortality rates, and access to safe drinking water.“The additional funding will support the continuation of successful activities, and will particularly focus on improving the quality of health care provision. The project will al Show Less -